Executive Summary

At the request of Mayor Martin O’Malley, the Greater Baltimore Committee and the Presidents’ Roundtable were asked to review the operations of the City of Baltimore’s Health Department. The Health Department project team was led by Greater Baltimore Committee board members Sister Helen Amos, Executive Chair of the Board of Directors, Mercy Health System, John McDaniel, President, MedStar Health, Dr. Morton I. Rapoport, President & CEO, University of Maryland Medical Systems and Presidents’ Roundtable members Percy Allen II, President/CEO, Bon Secours Hospital and Victor C. March, Sr., President, Marcorp Ltd. The project team was divided into eight subcommittees that focused on the following areas: Health Administration; Adult, School, and Community Health; Baltimore Mental Health Systems; Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems; Communicable Diseases; Environmental Health; Maternal and Child Health; and a subcommittee that researched “best practices” in the public health field.

As part of the review process, members of the project team met several times with the Department’s senior management team, interviewed staff, performed site visits, and hosted a conference attended by leading public health officials from several cities across the country. The project team leaders and the eight subcommittees attempted to keep the review effort focused on identifying opportunities to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of the services that the Department either directly provides or funds.

The project team’s recommendations can be encapsulated within the five overarching themes below. These themes form the basis for a series of recommendations designed to improve the Department’s ability to respond to Baltimore’s public health needs and to act on the O’Malley Administration’s service priorities.